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Show UPandL Favors BuyingCPN "Utah Power and Light is interested in-terested in purchasing CPNational's entire electrical system in southern Utah or its system in Cedar City also. ," said Vice President of Development for UP&L Jim Taylor at a meeting called by mayor Jack Sawyers to inform candidates for the city council and the general public on the power issues concerning the city. Taylor said that UP & L is currently negotiating with CPN and has offered $10 million plus property in Colorado for the system. He said that if UP & L serviced the area that the rates would be the same as those in Salt Lake City and outlined a plan for establishing a district headquartered in Richfield. He said that costs for new transmission tran-smission lines nd additional power plants would be assumed by all of UP & L's customers as an "integrated" system. He indicated that UP & L is interested in maintaining CPN's employees and manager if they wish to work with the company. "UP & L's intent is to get out of any contracts in which the end user is not a customer of our own. We want to limit the growth of our company to service our own customer. We don't want to make new wholesale power contracts and feel that any new utilities should build their own generating facilities," said Taylor. The main controversy raised in his discussion with local officials concerned con-cerned CPN's current wholesale purchasing contract with his company com-pany and whether that contract can be transferred to the Southwest Utah . Power Agency if they succeed in their negotiations to purchase CPN's ; system. Taylor said that UP &L is currently building a new generating plant every two years with costs currently at $1,000 per kilowatt. He said that by 1985 southern Utah would be using 50 megawatts of power and that U.S. Air Force officials had been inquiring about the possibility of purchasing 172 megawatts for the MX missile project. Taylor felt that the Public Service Commission has been erncouraging municipalities and other utility companies to help finance power plants by purchasing interests in plants instead of being "subsidized" by the retail customers of utility's such as UP & L who have . previously financed the plants through the rates which they pay the company. Carl Palmer, advocate of locally owned power systems, stated that CPN's contract with UP & L is in "perpetuity" and cited court cases which supported the view that utilities can't "turn off the lights" to a service area.. The Southwest Utah Cooperative Power Federation'-s attorney George Fadel has argued that CPN's contract for the wholesale power is "assignable" or would be assumed as one of CPN's assets if the federation is successful in purchasing the utility system. Helen Edwards, one of UP & L's attorneys, said, "If someone besides UP k L purchases the system, we will require a new contract arrangement." Taylor said that the company is trying to make utilities buy into power systems which are being constructed rather than serving as wholesalers. "Attorneys are making a lot of money out of the power business,"' SAID Taylor. . He seemed to indicate that a costly court battle would take place if the federation tries to assume CPN's contract. |